Doomed Confessionary: Antonio, Pierpaolo & Giorgio (Nautha)
Photo by Bianca Loðbrók
Nautha is a psychedelic rock band formed in 2016 in Rome, Italy. The core of the line-up is made up by Pierpaolo Cianca (guitar), Antonio Montellanico (vocals, bass, guitar) and Giorgio Pinnen (drums). In 2018 they debuted with the album »Tutti i Colori del Buio« inspired by the Italian progressive rock season of the 70s, mixing doom, metal, psychedelic and art rock influences.
The band’s latest album »Metempsychosis« was released on April 28th, 2023 via Argonauta Records.
Can you say a few words about your band?
We forged Nautha in 2016 to pour out our passion for a certain type of progressive rock and psychedelia that has its roots in the 70s. We’re great fans of King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel’s Genesis and we have a deep devotion for contemporary bands like Mastodon, Opeth, Motorpsycho, Devin Townsend, and above all the musical mysticism of Tool and A Perfect Circle. If you know and if you like some of these incredible bands and musicians, well you better check out our new album »Metempsychosis« and give it a spin!
What was the biggest challenge for the band this year?
Our strenuous desire to make music without borders, without constraints and free from ‘commercial’ logics. From a strictly musical point of view we have looked a lot at certain harmonic juxtaposition typical of free jazz, or of the broader and more experimental krautrock, and electronic kosmische muzik layers, always trying to avoid the classic verse-chorus structures. We never repeat anything in our songs, which is crazy and commercially suicidal. »Metempsychosis« (our latest album, via Argonauta Records) is a very important piece of our sound research. There are many different elements compared to traditional rock but maybe typical of the ‘progressive rock’ language. We have inserted various anomalous musical instruments such as the koto, a Japanese zither with a very particular timbre and which we have used to obtain a certain type of polyphony on »Samat«, then the mellotron on »Kteis«, a theremin on »Heracleion«, the organ on »Laguna« and the acoustic piano that is the protagonist for the entire title-track, as well as the wave-drum in several drum sections. We like the idea of experimenting at 360 degrees without precluding anything in terms of research or musical genres. We do this not only because is a great challenge for us as musicians, but also because we discovered that it is our primary drive.
What can you be most proud of this year?
Probably the decision to switch from Italian language to lyrics sung in English. Our first record was definitely a “coming of age” album in which we tried to blend some sound modalities typical of the politically engaged Italian progressive scene of the 70s with a personal approach between alternative rock, grunge and doom metal. This way, Italian language allowed us to work on the text as a very poetic, very deep and lyrical part of the songs but at the same time without synthesis, often redundant and didactic. With the elaboration of the new material for »Metempsychosis« – which is also a concept as well as our first »Tutti i Colori del Buio« – we have instead tried to dry, to synthesize our message and leave even more space to the instrumental component and the free interpretation by the listener, without providing specific linguistic points of reference. Now, for us English is not only more musical but also undoubtedly more cryptical and fascinating. Its a win-win.
What was your biggest regret?
Not to be able to perform live, still. Even if there’s a precise reason behind it.
»Metempsychosis« is a complex album for us, full of sonic facets. We really like the result, and would like to play it live in a great way, so we are taking some extra time to prepare our live set with the addition of a new live member in the band that gives us support and helps us to perform the songs at their full sonic potential. It’s a positive regret. We’ll be back on stage with some surprises. We are already working on new songs for the third album but first we need to bring »Metempsychosis« live around, possibly in Italy and then who knows, abroad. We are happy to be able to experience this new set trying to involve more people in our musical world. It’ll be a beautiful journey that we want to take collectively.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
There is none. There’s usually twelve dancers on stage to bring a minimum of sense to the “songs” that today’s artists keep proposing. Pop sucks, Rock is in the hands of completely hollow dandies, and independent bands are (almost) ignored by the clubs, because people just want to go crazy with cover bands or beer-selling rock’n’roll numbers. The only real artistic ferment now belongs to extreme music (I think about black metal, death, or hardcore punk), which is still free to explore, renovate itself and create new wonderful fan bases. But not in Italy, there is very little to be surprised here about other than the total lack of creativity in 90% of the actual musical offerings.
What are your plans for the next year as a band? What do you personally want the most?
You don’t know how much we miss the stage! We would like to just play live. And if we could choose, to play in places that emanate their own history, where we can hear our music in harmony with nature and with the surrounding space, with the active participation of the audience. That’s a main goal for us for sure, to resonate in cosmic energy!
How can people best support your band?
Via our Bandcamp page: nautha.bandcamp.com. We would like to thank once again all those who have contributed and supported us warmly. It is clear that artistic expression in music cannot be separated from a minimum of feedback from the outside, so our main goal is a participating and larger audience that shares ideas and passions with us. We are lucky and devoted to the people who follow us. We personally took care of the promotion of the album through social channels and the sale of physical copies during live shows and through our bandcamp page. Now the support of an independent label such as Argonauta Records, undoubtedly allows us to get in touch with other musical realities and for our new album »Metempsychosis« the possibility of having a greater distribution, reaching more people.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
»Metempsychosis« is an album we care so much about. We would like the listener to make his own image of our songs, get a sensation, an emotional state, and therefore a thought. In a certain way, our main goal remains Music itself and the images that we can derive from it and give to others. We’ve been always for good driving, cinematic, long form music. But we make records that are quite the opposite of background or accompanying music.
In a society that perpetually asks you to do something, perform, produce and never think, we ask the listener to slow down and stop, to have patience.
To reconnect on what is around you, and drop you ego. So sit back, relax, shift back from your conscious and take this journey all along the way. This is what Nautha is all about.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well